Though his official name is Anakin, after the Star Wars character, a killer dolphin leaving a trail of bodies in his wake is quickly being known under another, and much funnier name.
Sharks get a bad rap as being the menaces of the ocean, but behind their toothy grins lies a sea demon much darker: The dolphin. The insidious antics of dolphins are well documented despite their cute squeaks and watery gymnastics, from sexual assult to outright murder, and now one has risen to new infamous heights.
Named Anakin, this bottlenose dolphin is leaving a trail of bodies around the Welsh coast as experts speculate that his species could be the reason common dolphins are not-so-common in the UK. In a matter of months, he’s killed a baby common dolphin and a four-foot smooth-hound shark, throwing the latter into the air in full view of a dolphin tour boat. His murderous rampage has earned him the moniker, Jack the Flipper.
Credit: Ranae Smith
Speaking to Jam Press, dolphin water Sarah Michelle Wyer said: “I’ve not seen a dolphin throw a shark out in the eight years I’ve been watching them. One of the skippers has seen them throw topes, which is another small member of the shark family, but not smooth-hounds.
“But when Anakin killed the young common dolphin, it was the first recorded instance of this behaviour happening in Cardigan Bay. It is unknown why this dolphin chose to do it — as it would have been of no threat. Bottlenose dolphins are highly intelligent creatures and are capable of many unusual behaviours.
“They are not ‘friendly flipper’. This particular dolphin seems to have a very unusual personality. Despite the name, common dolphins aren’t common around here. And we now think this could be because of the bottlenose dolphins.”
Also speaking to Jam Press, Dolphin Spotting Boat Trips detailed how it initially thought the shark was a salmon that Anakin had caught.
“We were very surprised when one of our local dolphins, Anakin, brought what we originally thought was a large salmon past the boat and then threw the fish out the water,” the company said.
“To our surprise, it was not a salmon but a member of the shark family called a smooth-hound. We aren’t sure if there are many records of smooth-hounds being part of a bottlenose dolphin’s diet. Bottlenose dolphins are opportunistic feeders and have a varied diet of fish, squid and crustaceans. Anakin’s dolphinality is a very unusual one to say the least.”
Anakin might be the best name for the dolphin
Credit: Disney
It’s not yet clear whether Anakin the dolphin was named before or after his killing spree, but either way, it’s arguably quite genius. As we know, Anakin Skywalker was initially the hero of the Star Wars universe before falling to the dark side and becoming Darth Vader. On his road to becoming a Sith master, he killed a bunch of Jedi kids in a move that scarred many of us as children. As the dolphin is killing younglings, they couldn’t have picked a better name.
His nickname, Jack the Flipper, is also a neat fit, obviously named in reference to Jack the Ripper.
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